My wife and I have a little inside joke we use when one of us relates a story about someone unknown to the other, and that person’s age may be relevant.
It goes like this:
“If she hears the word “bizarre,” does she think strange or church bake sale?”
Because, of course, bizarre and bazaar sound the same when spoken. If you think church bake sale, you immediately give yourself away as “older.”
The bizarre/bazaar homophone is an overt flag that helps us understand the person, their perspective, and the context of the conversation.
If we pay attention, these little overt perspective flags fill our culture — tribe affiliation, bumper stickers, masks, hairstyle, clothing, car, yard signs, social media posts, music, etc.
We explicitly, if not always purposefully, use each of these flags to identify and communicate something about ourselves and our perspective.
But what about the hidden flags? What parts of our perspective do you and I try to keep hidden or maybe only show in specific company?
It may be harder to discern another’s hidden perspective flags, but it’s worth the effort. Because if you and I have these hidden parts, so does everyone.
